Gov. Doug Burgum, right, announces the formation of his Innovative Education Task Force during a press conference at the state Capitol on Tuesday in Bismarck. Also commenting on the task force were, from left, Nick Archuleta, of North Dakota United, Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, Sen. Donald Schaible, R-Mott, and Kirsten Baesler, state superintendent of public instruction. Mike McCleary / Bismarck Tribune

Republican Governor Doug Burgum has had something of a rocky relationship with our state’s Republican-dominated Legislature which dates back to his 2016 gubernatorial campaign in which he campaigned against the “good old boys club” in Bismarck.

The “good old boys” being the mostly Republican men (and women) elected to the Legislature.

This has manifested itself in a number of ways, from Burgum getting the boot from the floor of the state Senate for wearing jeans to an unnamed lawmaker doing a deep dive on the costs of the events Burgum has scheduled during his first year in office (I can tell you that some lawmakers refer to the Governor derisively as the “event planner in chief”).

That’s a big, big contribution for a legislative race. In fact it was about 28 percent of Oban’s reported contributions in her pre-primary report filed with the Secretary of State’s office yesterday (see below).

There’s nothing illegal or unethical about Dintersmith’s donation, of course. And Oban is an educator in her day job. But politically speaking, I can tell you that Republicans – particularly in the Bismarck area – aren’t happy about a guest invited to the state by Burgum dropping big money on a Democrat in what promises to be one of the hottest legislative races in the state.

And if certain Republicans weren’t already skeptical of Burgum’s education agenda, they probably are now right or wrong.

Oban is being challenged by former NDGOP chairman, and erstwhile U.S. Senate candidate, Gary Emineth.